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‘Who decided that a helter-skelter, Ferris wheel and festive market were appropriate for a Tier 3 area?’: Gedling MP Tom Randall demands answers from Nottingham City Council after crowding at Christmas event

Emily Sanchez
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‘Who decided that a helter-skelter, Ferris wheel and festive market were appropriate for a Tier 3 area?’: Gedling MP Tom Randall demands answers from Nottingham City Council after crowding at Christmas event

Gedling MP Tom Randall has told Nottingham City Council that people across the borough are feeling ‘immense frustration and anger’ over their decision to allow this year’s Christmas market to go ahead – despite the area being in tier 3 restrictions.

The market was suspended after 24 hours, before being scrapped altogether, after pictures showed huge crowds of people, with little or no social distancing evident.

In a letter to City Council leader David Mellen, sent yesterday (December 7), Mr Randall wrote: “Who decided that a helter-skelter, a Ferris wheel and a Christmas market were appropriate for a Tier 3 area?

“This weekend, I have received dozens of e-mails, as well as tweets and Facebook comments, from my constituents complaining about Nottingham City Council’s decision to hold a Christmas market in the Old Market Square.

“Saturday’s market was described as ‘rammed’. 

“We know the problem that we face: rates of Covid cases amongst the over-60s, while falling, remain high, as are the number of local hospital beds occupied by Covid patients. These are the reasons why Nottingham, and its suburbs, have been put into Tier 3 restrictions. 

“You will understand the immense frustration and anger of owners of hospitality businesses in Gedling, who have been forced to close their business, while watching hundreds flock to your Christmas market. You will also understand their worry that, if your market helped to spread COVID, the lifting of those restrictions could be delayed further.”

Loxley_House
PICTURED: Loxley House

Mr Randall has now asked for answers from the council over their decision to hold the event and also about the safety measures that were meant to be in place.

Nottingham City Council’s Dave Trimble, who is responsible for major events in the city, has since issued a public apology, calling the decision to hold the Christmas market ‘a mistake’.

He said: “I think hindsight is a wonderful thing, and given what we know now, absolutely we definitely got it wrong, and I’m very very sorry for that.

“Certainly anything else that happens during this time we will certainly not be putting any new events on.

“The market started off quite well, but during the afternoon and early evening it went wrong.

“There were three things that went wrong: there was the food offer – with the restaurants being closed, a lot of people went there at the same time;  the opening up of non-essential shops across the country – so there was a lot of pent-up demand there, we had taken the view that with all the other shops being open the market would be a part of that; and the third one was a really selfish group of around 200 people who gathered at the council house, and decided to have a party.

“What we had to do is act as quickly as possible, and we reacted by announcing we wouldn’t be opening it the next day, and quickly after that we decided we would be closing it for the whole duration.”

MPs vow to support council in bid for ‘levelling up’ cash for Gedling borough projects

Gedling Eye Reporter
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MPs vow to support council in bid for ‘levelling up’ cash for Gedling borough projects

Gedling and Sherwood MPs Tom Randall and Mark Spencer have vowed to play their part in “levelling up” their areas of Gedling borough as part of the Chancellor’s latest Spending Review.

The MPs’ pledge comes in response to a letter sent over the weekend by Gedling Borough Council leaders to Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

In the letter, councillors John Clarke and Michael Payne called the chancellor not to overlook the borough when allocating money from his new £4bn local ‘Levelling Up’ Fund.

The government fund has been set up to provide cash to local areas which councils can then use for infrastructure improvements.

The council leaders also sent the letter to their local MPs and called for their support.

Two of the MPs representing parts of the borough, Tom Randall and Mark Spencer, today sent a letter of response to the council and committed to support any bid for cash.

Gedling-Borough-Council
Gedling leader John Clarke, left and deputy leader Michael Payne, right wrote to the Chancellor about his Levelling Up fund (Credit: Joseph Raynor)

They also addressed criticism in the councillors’ letter around allocation of the £3.5bn Towns Fund, which Gedling missed out on.

In the letter they wrote: “As you will be aware, the list of allocations for the Towns Fund were finalised in September 2019 before Tom was Gedling’s Member of Parliament and while we share your disappointment that Gedling Borough Council’s bid was not successful on this occasion, we look forward to working with the Council in securing funding from additional schemes to improve Gedling Borough.

“Across the Sherwood Constituency, Mark has been working with another Council on grouping 3 larger villages together to bid for money to be shared appropriately.

“We would like to point out that to date we have not been asked by the Council to support and help any bids across the Borough of Gedling.

“We both look forward to working with the Council, residents ofGedling Borough and the Government to secure investment from the Levelling Up Fund into local projects that will improve the Borough.

“We also look forward to hearing from you if you require any letters of support, help and assistance or joint visits to support any town or village within the Borough of Gedling.”

In the letter the council listed a number of projects they want financial support for including a Fourth Trent Crossing and regeneration of Arnold town centre.

Peacocks store in Arnold could be saved if buy-out gets approval

David Bratton
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Peacocks store in Arnold could be saved if buy-out gets approval

Staff working for clothing retailer Peacocks in Arnold could be handed a lifeline if a management buyout of the clothing chain wins approval.

The chain was placed into administration last month, with the future of the store in Arnold now up in the air.

Posters were seen advertising a ‘closing down’ sale at the Front Street store over the weekend.

However, a proposed management buy-out would secure the future of the company along with its 4,908 staff and 470 stores across the UK.

The bid from a senior eCommerce manager at Peacocks Stores Ltd in conjunction with a private investor, follows the announcement that Peacock’s parent company EWM Group had placed the company into the hands of administrators, FRP Advisory.

The management buyout proposal which sets out to purchase the full company, its employees and its stores, also promises to strengthen Peacocks digital offering with a clear plan of investment into developing the eCommerce element of the business.

A spokesman for the buyout team said: “The MBO team is confident that with the right investment, they can drive forward innovation, bring about brand recovery and achieve a quick return to financial sustainability.

“With plans for short-term investment coupled with longer-term reinvestment, they propose injecting a fresh sense of purpose into Peacocks, safeguarding its future in spite of the on-going challenges high street retailers across the UK are facing.”

Crochet’s answer to Banksy brings festive cheer to Netherfield with latest postbox creation

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Crochet’s answer to Banksy brings festive cheer to Netherfield with latest postbox creation

A mystery artist has struck again, bringing Christmas cheer to the residents of Netherfield with their latest festive-themed crochet creation,

The post box outside the post office on Victoria Road was first decorated by the mystery knitter back in the summer lockdown, with a fetching wooly hat appearing on top of the box, to help shield it from the sun.

But as of this morning the hat has been replaced by the knitter’s latest creation and a mischievous elf and Grinch have now taken residence on top of the box.

PHOTO: Justin Doddy
PHOTO: Neil Slack

And this latest creation is proving a hit with people on the high street.

Margaret Adams, 62, from Carlton said: “It was lovely to see this this morning. We’ve had a tough year and it’s easy to forget it’s Christmas. This reminds you and who ever has done this is wonderful.”

Netherfield resident Anthony Banks said: “Whoever does this is doing it under the cover of darkness. It’s great for our town. It’s like having a Banksy as these knitted decorations just appear out of nowhere in the morning.”

New postcode checker tool reveals how climate change will impact weather in Gedling borough over coming decades

Gedling Eye
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New postcode checker tool reveals how climate change will impact weather in Gedling borough over coming decades

A new interactive tool has been created to show how climate change might impact the weather you see in parts of Gedling borough over the coming decades.

For the first time historical observations and detailed projections have been brought together to show the impact of climate change in local areas.

By entering your postcode, you can see how temperatures and rainfall may be impacted by climate change in each part of the UK.

Chief scientist Stephen Belcher, said “It’s all very well us scientists talking about projections and model outputs, but it is really important to illustrate what climate change might mean for people and the weather they could experience.

A screenshot of the BBC postcode tool
Flooding in Netherfield back in 2015

“We’ve been working hard with the BBC to develop a tool that is scientifically robust but also gives people a simple overview of climate change impacts in their area.”

The interactive tool uses a mix of Met Office National Climate Information Centre observations with projection data from the UK Climate Projections.

Generally, projections show that the UK will experience warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers. But this new tool now allows people to easily see what could happen at a more local level in their area.

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the National Climate Information Centre, said: “This approach of bringing historical observations together with the latest climate projections really puts future extremes into context.

“We’ve seen a raft of record-breaking weather over the past few years, and when you put that side by side with the projections it really brings to life what the weather could look like if we don’t significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

You can find the new tool HERE

Woman suffered ‘medical episode’ before three-car collision in Arnold

Gedling Eye
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Woman suffered ‘medical episode’ before three-car collision in Arnold

Police have said an elderly woman suffered a ‘medical episode’ before a three-car collision in Arnold over the weekend.

Officers on patrol sighted a car on the wrong side of Mansfield Road at around 6.45pm on Saturday (December 5). As they were turning around, it collided with two other vehicles.

The woman remains in hospital in a critical condition. There were no other reported injuries.

The serious collision investigation unit attended and the road was closed until 6am today to allow for the investigation.

Detective Constable Sarah Stables, said: “We have conducted thorough enquiries and believe the woman in her 70s sadly suffered a stroke.

“We’re grateful that no one else was injured and that officers were instantly on scene having seen the car being driven strangely.

“They were able to commence first aid until ambulance colleagues arrived and provide support to those involved.”

“Our thoughts are with the woman and her family at this time.”

Man taken to hospital with serious injuries following collision at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Man taken to hospital with serious injuries following collision at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield

A man suffered a serious head injury after a collision involving a van and a pedestrian in outside Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield.

Officers were called to the incident at the Victoria Retail Park at around 1.50 pm today (Sunday, December 6).

An air ambulance was also called

The male pedestrian was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre where his condition is described as serious but stable.

PICTURED: Police at the scene earlier today
Air ambulance Netherfield
The air ambulance has landed on the field opposite Teal Close PHOTO: Neil Slack/Gedling Eye
Cars held up on Victoria Road in Netherfield (PHOTO Neil Slack/Gedling Eye)

Colwick Loop Road is closed at junctions with Victoria Park Way, Victoria Road and Private Road to allow for Nottinghamshire Police’s serious collision investigators to carry out their enquiries.

Inspector Kylie Davies, said: “No one else was injured but we are working to find out how this incident has happened.

“We’d welcome any information from people in the area at the time, perhaps who saw what happened or who may have dashcam footage.

“Motorists are advised to avoid the area at this time. The road is expected to be closed for several hours.”

If you do have any information that could help, please contact us on 101 quoting incident 271 of 6 December. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Updates: Emergency services called to ‘incident’ near to Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield as air ambulance lands nearby

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Updates: Emergency services called to ‘incident’ near to Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield as air ambulance lands nearby

Emergency services are attending an ‘incident’ near to Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield and the air ambulance has been seen landing in a field nearby.

Police and ambulance crews are at the scene next to entrance to the retail park.

Emergency services in attendance outside Victoria Retail Park (PHOTO: Neil Slack/Gedling Eye)
Traffic backs up on Victoria Road in Netherfield as emergency services attend the scenes PHOTO: Neil Slack/Gedling Eye)
The air ambulance in the field opposite the Teal Close entrance (PHOTO:Neil Slack/Gedling Eye)
VIDEO CREDIT: AMY DIAMOND

Eye-witnesses have reported the Air Ambulance landing nearby.

It left after being on the ground for around 30 minutes.

You can read the story on Gedling Eye with police update here: https://www.gedlingeye.co.uk/news/man-taken-to-hospital-with-serious-injuries-following-collision-at-victoria-retail-park-in-netherfield/

Man arrested after two robberies at Carlton convenience store

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Man arrested after two robberies at Carlton convenience store

Police investigating two robberies at the same convenience store in Carlton have arrested and charged a suspect.

The incidents took place at McColl’s in Westdale Lane on Tuesday, October 27 and Saturday, November 19.

notts police

On both occasions a man is reported to have entered the store and demanded money from the till before fleeing the scene.

A man was arrested yesterday and has been charged with two counts of robbery.

Detective Sergeant Matt Scott said: “Robbery is an incredibly serious offence that can have a lasting impact on victims. That’s why we investigate every report we receive so thoroughly – following all the available evidence to identify suspects and bring them into custody.”

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Gedling leaders call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to fund local projects and ‘level up’ borough

David Bratton
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Gedling leaders call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to fund local projects and ‘level up’ borough

Calls are being made for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to ‘level up’ Gedling borough by splashing the cash on a number of proposed local improvement projects.

Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke and deputy leader Michael Payne yesterday wrote to the Chancellor appealing for fresh funding after the borough missed out on a slice of the government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund, despite submitting a strong bid.

The leaders are now asking for a share of Mr Sunak’s new £4bn Levelling Up Fund, which was launched last week during the Chancellor’s spending review.

The fund promises to deliver a range of community projects by the end of this parliament. 

In their letter to the Chancellor, the councillors wrote: “Our communities in Gedling borough were overlooked and did not receive a single penny from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, despite submitting a strong bid, which was deeply disappointing and a missed opportunity by the Government.

“We note the Secretary of State’s own constituency of Newark, which neighbours our Borough, was chosen by the Government for an allocation of £25 million from the Stronger Towns Fund and £275,000 from the Hight Streets Heritage Action Zone programme. 

In the letter the leaders highlighted a number of proposed projects which now require a fresh cash injection to move forward.

Gedling-Borough-Council
Gedling leader John Clarke, left and deputy leader Michael Payne, right have called on the government to fund local projects and ‘level up’ the borough (Credit: Joseph Raynor)
Rishi Sunak
PICTURED: Chancellor Rishi Sunak recently announced he was setting up a new Levelling Up fund to pay for local projects.

The wrote: “We trust you will honour your 2019 Conservative manifesto promise to ‘level up every part of the United Kingdom’ by ensuring that our communities in Gedling Borough will be prioritised to receive a significant allocation of the newly announced £4bn ‘Levelling Up’ Fund. 

“We’ve set out several projects that Gedling Borough Council would urge you to support with an allocation from ‘Levelling Up’ Fund.

“We look forward to you sharing the details of the process for securing funds from the ‘Levelling Up’ Fund in due course, and very much hope that we can work together to develop key infrastructure projects in support of our residents, communities and businesses.”

The Gedling borough projects the council leaders want funded…


Arnold Town Centre
A bid was originally submitted as part of the Future High Street Fund but did not receive Government support. The town centre currently faces numerous challenges including a heavy reliance on retail, a lack of strong identity, poor layout and street design, and competition from Nottingham City centre. The leaders said: ‘Using our own funds, we have already started to make significant improvements to the area, and a further capital injection of around £10 million would enable us to make leisure centre improvements, create a cultural hub, and re-develop the wider site around Arnold Market place, which the council has recently purchased and is currently investing in’. 

Former Gedling Mineral Line 
The council has set out a vision and ambition to develop a new 3.5km walking and cycling route along the former Gedling Mineral Line, in partnership with Network Rail, Nottingham City Council, and Nottinghamshire County Council. It would involve a capital cost of around £2 million. Working with Nottingham City Council, consideration will also be given to an extension of the tram line from the City, but the business case for this will rest with the City Council. 

Bestwood to Calverton Mineral Line 
Gedling Borough Council are keen to support Nottinghamshire County Council to develop an 8km walking and cycling route that will connect the cultural heritage heart of the Borough with the National Cycle Route 6. This former mineral line has the potential to connect both Nottingham City Centre to the south and Sherwood Forest to the north, with the world class heritage sites of Newstead Abbey and Papplewick Pumping Station. It would also uncover local sites of major heritage importance for both visitors and local people to discover. We see this an opportunity to create local jobs and to drive our local visitor economy using our significant local heritage as the driver. This project would cost around £1 million to deliver. 

Small Business Unit development 
Business units suitable for start-ups and small businesses are desperately needed within the Borough to help underpin a successful economic recovery by ‘growing our own’. Located in Calverton village, the provision of a further four units has been a longstanding ambition for the Council and this well-developed £1.2m project would provide four more starter units as well as Electric Vehicle Charging points to this village. The proposal has full planning permission, is ready to go, and can easily be delivered should funds be made available. 

Fourth Trent Crossing
The council want to construct a new road bridge over the River Trent, connecting Colwick and the eastern edge of Greater Nottingham with the A52 and the wider strategic road network. The area suffers from poor transport infrastructure, and this would provide opportunities for extending the tram from Nottingham City centre into Gedling, as well as developing new opportunities for walking and cycling. I have recently written to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps MP on two occasions now regarding this proposal but have not yet received a reply. This would require capital funding of around £70 million. 

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